A presidential commission looking for ways to cut the federal deficit has unsurprisingly targeted military benefits. Among other things, the panel suggests a 3-year pay freeze, delayed retired pay, and – the always popular during liberal administrations – cutting troops levels. Once again, I’m probably going to be standing alone on many of these points as I give “a Soldier’s perspective” to each of these. I’ll start with the most egregious – discouraging Tricare use.
Soldiers are required to undergo some of the worst training and operations that are rough on the human body. We hump packs that are upwards of 100 lbs, along with heavy armor and other gear. We march with that gear through all sorts of terrain, from sandy deserts to freezing cold, steep mountain terrain. We march through mud, dirt, tall grass, deep forests, and rocky hills. Some jump out of perfectly good airplanes and land while falling at 20 feet per second. The impact is jolting to the body. We live in field environments where we go without sleep for extended periods of time. We endure combat stresses that unlike anything in the civilian world. Some people would flat out die of a heart attack if placed in some of our situations.
And yet, our government doesn’t think we deserve the best, cheapest care the country can provide. We give of our very bodies, sacrificing our bodies, our families, and our lives to sub-standard care and they think we deserve even less in the name of saving money. Meanwhile, people who sit on their ass for a living rake in unemployment checks as “benefits.” Now, I understand that there are some legitimate people who can’t find work and may feel the need to rely on government benefits. I’m not talking about that minority. I’m talking the great number of lazy, do-nothings that would rather suck off the government teet than contribute to society.
One of the things from the panel that has a lot of people up in arms is the suggestion that pay get frozen for three years for federal civilian employees. I completely agree with this, but don’t think it goes far enough. I think there needs to be a freeze on ALL federal employees, to include Soldiers, congress, the President, cabinet members, and every other person in this country receiving federal tax dollars. Many groups, like the social program whores at IAVA, think this is a bad idea. I think most Soldiers would be willing to skip non-promotion pay raises to support our country in its hour of need. We are used to sacrificing and I personally think that we get paid quite well. Our pay has virtually doubled since the mid 90′s. The only reason I would be opposed to this option is if the pay freeze ONLY applied to the military.
Another bonehead suggestion of the commission is to consolidate the military exchange and commissary system and raise prices by “5 percent or more.” The PX already operates on a profit, 70% of which of which go back into Soldier programs like MWR and BOSS. Troops pay a 5% surcharge on all commissary purchases. Surely, they could combine the two without raising prices and removing any taxpayer burden.
The panel also suggests cutting troop levels in Europe and Asia by one-third. I completely agree with cutting troops levels in Europe, but not in Asia. The panel obviously has no foresight into our future threats to national security. China and Russia are one of the greatest threats that we will face in the future and removing troops from where they can more easily respond to those threats is a bad idea. Saving money at the expense of national security should not be an option.
If the panel – and our government – really wants to save money and lower the deficit, they need to look at “nice to have” social programs that we simply can’t afford. For starters, we could get rid of unemployment benefits immediately. In just the past three years, we have wasted $319 BILLION on unemployment benefits. There are many other federal programs that can easily be slashed or completely obliterated, but this isn’t the place to discuss those.
We aren’t a peacetime Army and now is not the time for certain cuts in the military. The military should be the LAST place our government goes looking to find savings.
